When it comes to getting glowing skin, it’s easy to pile on all the makeup products in the world. But if you don’t treat your skin at its core, you won’t ever achieve a natural radiance that makes you look healthy and flawless.

Properly achieving a glowing complexion is something that we strive for on a daily basis; it’s also the most common question that we get asked by our customers – so we wanted to break it down for you – in the 7 tips that we always abide by.

Here’s to glowing skin for 2020!

Science Shows that Sleep Improves the Appearance of Your Skin:

A good night’s sleep, also known as “beauty sleep” (ideally 8 hours) can lead to overall good skin health because when you’re sleep-deprived, your body makes more of the stress hormone cortisol. Elevated levels of cortisol can lead to increased stress and inflammation in the body, hurting your skin’s quality, tone and luster – think defined wrinkles, dull + lack-luster looking complexion and dark circles, to name a few.

The restorative power of sleep is vital for rejuvenating and repairing the skin and is controlled by the hormone melatonin. Melatonin production increases and peaks around 2am, so applying a night cream before bed enhances your skin’s ability to rest and reset. During the nighttime hours, the skin springs into action to repair itself back into balance through a restorative and renewal process. Applying products that are packed with anti-aging ingredients such as Retinol, Antioxidants, Peptides, Vitamins, to name a few, at night, are particularly important because the skin is able to absorb the nutrients and ingredients more effectively while being in a relaxed state and out range of UV rays and pollution. 

Superfoods For Glowing Skin:

Growing up we had a sticker on our refrigerator which read, “You Are What You Eat”, so the importance of healthy food was instilled in me from a very young age. Clear and glowing skin starts from the inside. Eating fried foods, processed foods and sugar can wreak havoc on your skin causing puffiness, redness. Blemishes. Blotchiness, and in all cases Glycation. The Glycation process is sugar (from food and alcohol) breaking down the collagen fibers in the skin and speeding up the aging process – think premature wrinkles and loss of elasticity. Eating foods rich in Omega-3 fatty acids like salmon, avocado and almonds can greatly reduce inflammation, reduce dryness and increase circulation – a key attribute to healthy, youthful-looking skin. Leafy greens, fermented foods and foods rich in antioxidants all play a part in our internal and external health and provide you with that added glow.

Exercise:

Exercise holds the key to so many health benefits including glowing skin.  Exercise produces endorphins which helps to reduce overall stress, pain, anxiety, inflammation, and create an overall radiant glow. Stress can cause your body to produce excess sebum, which can lead to breakouts, so regular exercise can keep breakouts at bay. Getting a good sweat makes your body feel good and while the liver and kidneys are responsible for detoxing heavy metals and toxins they can only handle so much. Sweating can definitely help rid the body of toxins.  Exercise also Increases circulation which gets the heart pumping and blood flowing allowing for glowing skin all over. And let’s not forget about the calories burned (especially when weight training) which will help keep the body skintight. Lastly exercise creates confidence!  When you excel at something (even if it’s just finishing the bootcamp class) you gain confidence. Confidence is strong, healthy and beautiful!

 Why Clean Beauty Matters:

The skin is the body’s largest organ and research proves it capable of absorbing up to 60% of the ingredients in the products we apply – that is a large number and we’ve become more aware of what ingredients are found in our products for this reason. Many synthetic ingredients have been recognized to cause irritation in some people and may have damaging effects longer-term.

All of Goldfaden MD products couple scientific expertise and nourishing active plant cell extracts to restore and improve the appearance of aging skin and are made without harsh synthetic ingredients. Our commitment is to create safe, yet effective products that utilize the most effective and innovative naturally derived, result driven ingredients from around the globe.

Exfoliate: The best thing that you can do for your skin

Ever wonder why a baby’s skin is so soft? It’s because babies naturally replace their skin cells every few days. As you grow older, however, the rate of skin cell turnover slows down dramatically. Dead cells on your skin’s surface hang around much longer, a fact that tends to accentuate those fine lines and make your complexion look dull and lifeless. By removing these dead skin cells, exfoliation helps make up for the gradual slowing down of your natural skin renewal process, improving the tone and texture of your skin.

The process of exfoliation is a lot like peeling away the dry, outer skin of an onion to reveal the living layers beneath. Whether the exfoliation is done using mechanical abrasion or a controlled chemical reaction, removing dead and damaged skin cells on the surface allows the fresh new skin underneath to become visible. This newly exposed layer of skin feels much softer and smoother. Its surface reflects light better, making fine lines and other small imperfections harder to see. Age spots and other areas of unwanted pigmentation are less noticeable because the dead skin cells containing the pigment have been removed. Exfoliation unplugs clogged pores and allows for the release of natural skin oils. Regular exfoliation also helps to maintain open pores, decreases pore size, and minimizes many types of superficial scarring. In addition, removing the top layer of dead and damaged cells allows other health-promoting agents such as moisturizers, antioxidants, and collagen-boosting ingredients to better penetrate the skin and work more effectively.

Our coveted Doctor’s Scrub, and the first product created in my father’s dermatology practice, is extremely effective due to the Ruby crystals that are used. Ruby Crystals are perfectly round and have no jagged edges, which can cause irritation or broken capillaries. Doctor’s Scrub also contains targeted emollients Hyaluronic Acid, Jojoba Oil and Apricot Kernel oil to hydrate and nourish the skin. One of the benefits of Doctor’s Scrub is that it delivers or signature  ‘Goldfaden Glow’.

Facial massage:

‘natural face lift’: Massaging our face promotes oxygen and blood flow in our skin – you can stimulate the lymph nodes that lies just beneath the surface, which can flush out fluids and increase the flow of both oxygenated blood and nutrients.

Not only does this result in reducing puffiness, it also creates a brighter and more even skin tone and appearance overall. The massage will also increase collagen production, which prevents the formation of wrinkles. You can call it the ‘natural face lift’.

Mindfulness + Balanced State = Laughter + Gratitude:

When you are happy or grateful the following magic things happen:

Blood flow is optimal which means a more even complexion.

You produce endorphins, which actually strengthen the skin barrier, have antioxidant properties and may help wounds heal faster.

You produce serotonin, the ‘feel-good’ hormone, which has been shown to help promote immune health and feeling blue.

Cortisol levels go down. Cortisol, the stress hormone, can cause excess creation of sebum which can lead to breakouts, high blood pressure, insulin sensitivity, lowered immunity and the inability to burn fat. Cortisol is 23% lower in people who feel gratitude.

Laughing turns off the production of cortisol. Laughing also produces dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is the ‘feel-good’ and ‘calming’ hormone. Laughing also relaxes muscles in the body, releases endorphins, decreases stress, increases blood flow and can help with pain reduction.